That stupid contrarian channel 4 ADHD program is going to cause a lot of direct harm with people coming off their meds or taking their kids off, but it's also causing a lot of wider harm to peoples' mental health by trying to take us back to the idea that if you struggle with something that many other people don't it must be because you're not trying hard enough. Certainly for me the greatest benefit from the wider acceptance and understanding of neurodiversity in recent years that this sort of program has been pushing back on hasn't been in terms of accommodations or coping strategies being offered, it's been the understanding that there are different kinds of people and if you struggle with something that most of the people around you seem to find easy it's not because you're being lazy or don't care about it enough, it's because it's harder for you than it is for them. You're just different, not a bad person.
@afewbugs As Yoda said, "There is no try" some days. Going to bed can be quite a trial for me, particularly when I'm tired. My ADHD isn't even diagnosed because it isn't so bad I've needed it to be but it doesn't feel like an illness, just who I am.
@afewbugs I've just shared this on another thread - a critique of that programme, by experts. An interesting article on the topic. And I won't be watching the programme!
https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-the-tv-show-the-great-adhd-myth/
I like that the Guardian review, otherwise gushing for the program now ends with:
"Mason went back on his meds after a poor set of exam results but is hoping to come off them again this summer."
Stimulants breaks over summer are per standard clinical practice in any case.
@abartlet @patrickhadfield yes I have a horrible feeling that in ten years or so Channel 4 will go back to Mason to film the autobiographical documentary about how much harm partcipating in this programme did to him
It's not just neurodiversity either, we're slowly starting to fight back against (and triggering a pushback to) the idea that pain and fatigue are something that people who struggle with just aren't trying hard enough about. But admitting these things are real means acknowledging as a society that we've treated a lot of people very badly, and need to restructure things and give them more support going forward, so of course there's a massive coordinated pushback that it's all just an Instagram trend and these people are just being lazy and scrounging benefits. And that hurts the people who are trying so desperately hard to keep up with everyone else but can't, and on top of that are struggling with feeling like it's all their fault for not trying hard enough or caring enough.
@afewbugs the anti disability crusade is being led by the same people who masterminded the anti trans moral panic too. It's all the same fight.
@afewbugs the backlash makes me so sad. All this macho productivity-is-worth bullshit, and for what?
It's not like we're even sacrificing health and happiness for something amazing, like making sure we all survive climate change. Just number go up.
